Coronavirus: SARS-like virus confirmed in Qatari man

A Qatari man was confirmed as having the SARS-like coronavirus, which health officials worry will spread globally.

Credit:

CDC

A middle-aged Qatari man has been confirmed to have the SARS-like coronavirus Friday after traveling to Saudi Arabia.

The new virus, which was by Britain’s Health Protection Agency in September, has killed two people in Saudi Arabia, with the total number of confirmed cases now rising to six.

Despite the small number of cases, health experts say that the virus is new in humans and there is a risk of an outbreak, reported CBS News.

The announcement of the Qatari man was made by Germany's Robert Koch Institute, which treated the man.

The WHO has advised national governments that their health officials should test anyone with severe pneumonia symptoms for the disease.

"Until more information is available, it is prudent to consider that the virus is likely more widely distributed than just the two countries which have identified cases," the WHO said in a statement, reported Reuters.

Coronavirus symptoms include high fever, breathing difficulties and coughing.

The Qatari man was treated for the disease and discharged from hospital in October.

The name "coronavirus" stems from the Latin word for crown in reference to the virus' circular appearance.

SARS was identified in China in 2002 and killed about 800 of the 8000 people infected.

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